Global Media News

Canadian Television Regulations Under the CRTC

Regulations on Canadian content under the CRTC have not just seeped their way in to radio stations. They have seeped their way in to the movie/TV production industry as well. With the United States consistently going to Canada to film their movie/TV shows due to "Vancouver’s talented technical labour pool, comprehensive studio infrastructure, and a low Canadian dollar", the United States threatens to culturally imperialize the Canadian movie/TV production industry. To preserve Canadian movie/TV content the CRTC has established a system in which Canadian screenwriters must follow in order to have their movie/TV show be considered Canadian. 

The system established by the CRTC is a 10 point system. For a movie/TV show to be considered Canadian it must total 8 points or more. Recently though the CRTC lowered this requirement. Instead of a movie/TV show being required to have 8 points or more, movies/TV shows are required to have 6 points or more to be considered Canadian.

However, if a person wants 10 points (as well as money from the CTF) for their movie/TV show to be considered Canadian the following requirements must be met. First and foremost, a certain percentage of the workers must be Canadian. The information below list the roles found in movie/TV show productions who must be Canadian citizens in order for their movie/TV show to be considered Canadian. Each role is also given a point amount which all together adds up to the 10 point requirement for a movie/TV show to be considered Canadian (10 points is the highest amount of points a movie/TV show can get in order to be considered Canadian).

"Canadian director (two points); screenwriter (two points); highest paid and/or second highest paid lead performers (one point each); director of photography (one point); art director (one point); music composer (one point); and picture editor (one point). The only non-negotiable pre-requisite — excluded from the points system — is that the producer be - Canadian" (Marchand, Canadian Screenwriters see red after recent CRTC funding rule changes, Vancouver Sun).

Also, the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission states that the CRTC has established regulations for video services. When discussing video services their are two kinds. The first is video-on-demand service. With video-on-demand service Canadians are able to watch the movies/TV shows they want and are able to fast forward, rewind or even pause at their convenience. The second is pay-per-view. With pay-per-view Canadians are required to pay a fee in order to watch a particular movie/TV show. With both of these services they " must offer a 1:20 ratio of Canadian to non-Canadian films and a 1:7 ratio of Canadian to non-Canadian events, and distribute no fewer than 12 Canadian feature films each year" (Canadian Culture in a Global World, Government of Canada) .

However, with the point system being changed from 8/10 to 6/10 points, the CRTC has a reason for it. Not only will more movie/TV shows be eligible to receive funding from the CTF, but the CRTC states that the Canadian movie/TV industry needs help from other national movie/TV companies if they wish to succeed in a demanding market. However, some Canadians do not support this idea of other nations such as the United States coming in to their countries.

For example, if Canada let's nations such as the United States produce movies/TV shows in their nation they are giving the US the chance to culturally imperialize their industry. The United States culturally imperializing their movie/TV industry will devalue their Canadian culture represented in the movies/TV shows as well as Americanize the Canadian movie industry. The United States will also force Canadian producers, screenwriters, directors, actors, etc. to find work else where. This is because Americans that are coming to make movies/TV shows in Canada are taking over their jobs. Hopefully Canada's movies/TV shows do not lose there unique intrinsic value, Canadian diversity or culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to a Brand New Season of Global Media News!

Listen to Global Media News for Thursday, September 8, 2016.

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This week on Global Media News:

• A Very Brief History of Irish Media
• Race & Brexit in the UK:  Anti-Immigrant Coverage?
• Is Japan Still the Godzilla of the Global Gaming Industry?
• Two Billion for What?  Streaming Japanese Soccer to the World
• Social Media & Internet Access  in Cuba
• Canadian Content on Canadian Radio:  How Much Is Enough?
• Facebook in Morocco: Unity, Language & Literacy

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.   We scour the web for news about media, journalism and technology.  

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Inside Brazil's Largest Television Network

    Many people all over the world have been watching the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this past August. But Brazil would rather have their eyes glued to watching telenovelas.

    Around 91 million people in Brazil sit, relax, and tune into TV Globo each day, which was addressed in The Economist. That number is almost half of Brazil's population, and the numbers the United States hope to get once a year. Their popular soap operas called telenovelas, get the largest viewers, ratings, and word of mouth around Brazil.

    According to a 2011 study conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, featured in this New York Times article by Vanessa Barbara, it shows that the percentage of people who have a television set, 96.9%, is higher than people who own a refrigerator, which is 95.8%, and 64% just have one television in their household. This shows that many people in the country really do love their telenovelas!

    In this additional New York Times article by David Segal, he mentions the schedule for weeknight shows on TV Globo, which is: five one-hour telenovelas, with two newscasts and one sitcom in between. The most viewed time slot is 9:15, when about 50 million people sit to watch TV Globo, which is approximately one fourth of the country's population.

    In the same article, Monica Albuquerque, the head of Globo's artistic development said that "the country would stop" if soaps went on hiatus, especially during the Olympic Games. Alburquerque also added that "it's culture and a part of life".

 

 

 

French Media to Stop Over-Publicizing Terrorist Information

    The French Media is now looking to stop publicizing the photos and names of the terrorists who have taken responsibility for the killings in France. Their goal is to avoid “posthumous glorification” as stated in a Guardian online article covering the topic. Many sources of media in France such as Le Monde newspaper, BFM-TV,  a Catholic newspaper, La Croix, and Europe 1 Radio have all stated that they also wish to stop this glorification of the terrorists actions and will no long be sharing photographs and names of the people involved. A Telegraph article on the same topic says that French Media is looking to stop the “hero” effect.

    Although this course of action makes sense to many, there are still other sources of media who feel that they must exploit these criminals for who they are. They feel as though if they do not share the information, they are keeping citizens in the dark. Mitchell Field, the executive director of news at the state-run Fran Televisions issued a statement about it being their duty to inform citizens. He feels as though avoiding the names and photographs of the individuals responsible for the attacks would “contribute to the anxiety of the public and the feelings that they were being kept in the dark by the mainstream media…”

    Islamic State propaganda has already been previously banned from many media sources and this is just another step in that same direction. These feelings towards banning this information from media were slowly churning in the back of minds for some time. The quicker decision of these media stations to stop posting the information about the terrorists was accelerated by the attacks at the public celebration of Bastille Day in Nice on July 14th 2016.

 

French BBC Country Profile

How is Canadian Radio Regulated Under the CRTC?

With a population at around 34.7 million citizens, Canada is considered to be a media powerhouse. From radio to newspapers to TV, Canada keeps the public up to date on local and global news.  However, with the United States being it's southern neighbor, it has threatened to infiltrate most of the Canadian media. To preserve Canadian culture and content, rules and regulations were established. These rules controlled how much Canadian content must be played in order to reduce the amount of US content that threatens to infiltrate the media. The first media outlet which will be the focus of this post is Canadian radio.

In the Canadian radio industry there are two types of music listeners tune in to. Both types of music are listed under their own category. The first is Category 2, Popular Music. This category includes pop, rock, country music, etc.  The second is Category 3, Special Interest Music. This category includes classical, jazz, blues music, etc. Based on the category (categories) of music the radio station chooses to play they must play a certain amount of Canadian content on their station each week. The amount of Canadian content that is to be played on a particular Canadian station is established by the CRTC.

To start off with Category 2, Popular Music the following radio stations fall under this category. These radio stations are community, campus and native radio and CBC Radio/Canada. While both of these radio stations must play a certain amount of Canadian content, the required percentage of how much Canadian content they must play varies. For community, campus and native radio Canadian content must consist at least 35% of the radios broadcast by the end of each week. With CBC Radio/Canada they are held to a higher standard. They are required to have by the end of each week at least 50% of their content Canadian.

The other Canadian radio stations are considered to be included under Category 3, Special Interest Music. These stations are commercial radio, native radio, community and campus radio, and ethnic radio. Just like the radio stations listed under Category 2, Popular Music, these radio stations listed under Category 3 are required to play a certain amount of Canadian content. The amount of Canadian content required by radio stations under Category 3 are held to a lower standard compared to their Category 2 radio friends. This is because the type of music they play is not popular. With the first Category 3 radio station, commercial radio, they play four types of music. These are Canadian blues, jazz, concert, and special interest music. On this radio station they must play at least 20% Canadian jazz, 20% Canadian blues, 25% of Canadian concert music and 25% of Canadian Special Interest Music. With CBC Radio/Canada they must at least play 20% of Canadian Special Interest Music each week. For native, community, and ethnic radio stations they are held to a lower standard when it comes to playing Canadian Special Interest Music. On the native radio stations Special Interest Music must consist at least 10% of the radio stations broadcast each week whereas community radio stations must consist at least 12% and ethnic must consist at least 7%.

While these are the rules established by the CRTC their are exceptions. Radio stations will be approved for these exceptions if and only if they are proved for one or two of the following licenses. The licenses are pre-1956 music and oldies music. With pre-1956 music they must play 2% of Canadian content if all their music is before the year 1956.However, they must play 10% of Canadian content if 90% or more of their music is pre-1956. In regards to the oldies music 30% of the music must be Canadian if 90% of the music was released before the year of 1981.

With the following restrictions the CRTC places among varying radio stations they are preserving Canadian music and culture. While they try to preserve Canadian music and culture the question is whether placing these limitations on the kind of music one plays and listens to will be worth protecting Canada's safety from a US cultural takeover . With the US dominating most of the media world such as in films, music, news, etc. Canada is becoming threatened of losing aspects of its' culture and being its' own unique country.  Hopefully having established Canadian music requirements for radio stations will keep Canadian music and the unique identity of Canada preserved, alive and safe from a US cultural takeover.

 

 

 

 

 

What Does the Coup Mean for Turkish Journalists?

How can a nation that’s facing a tragic situation be deprived of news?

 

Let’s imagine there was an attack on American soil. The first thing we do is check our phones, refresh our feeds, turn on the TV. We want answers, and we deserve them. Now, imagine that attack without access to ANY form of media. The amount of fear that would render the country is unimaginable. That is what Turkey is undergoing. Following the failed coup attempt of the country, Turkish government officials have taken outrageous and potentially illegal precautions. This includes ordering a ban on over 100 media outlets.

 

It is not unusual for Turkish journalists to face prosecution for their work. According to the BBC, "the military, Kurds and political Islam are highly-sensitive topics, coverage of which can lead to arrest and prosecution." In Turkey, the TV and radio stations have frequently been suspended for airing sensitive content.

 

What does this mean for journalists? Many of them have been apprehended, some have even had their homes raided by police, all for simply doing their JOB. A large percentage of Turkish journalists have even lost their jobs and have had their credentials revoked.

 

This brings us to wonder why exactly President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is going after civilians. The current situation journalists are facing, has been described as a “witch-hunt environment”. Anyone believed to be affiliated with the Gulen movement, an Islamic religious and social movement, is under question. His goal is to prevent any pro-coup coverage in the media from circulating.

Why is this a major issue? For starters, Turkey is a Democracy. Freedom of Press is a vital principle in a democracy, and Turkish citizens are being robbed of their civil right. President Erdogan's motives, as well as moral is under question.

 

Fortunately, there is help. The CPJ, "Committee to Protect Journalists," is a nonprofit organization that helps journalists worldwide. 

The Rise of Social Media in India

        Social media has become part of the norm in the United States. Over the past few years, it seems that everyone has created a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, or an Instagram account to publicize their lives. However, there are other countries that are not too far behind in the Social Media game, with India being one of those countries in particular.

       According to an article from techinasia.com, 65% of India is still without internet access, but India still has 462 million internet users. In addition, there are 153 million social media accounts from those who have internet access. In the US that may not seem like a large number of users, but for a country that is that far behind in internet use it is a great start. This article projects that the number of users in India will most definitely go up in the coming years as more and more people are able to use the internet.

       The growth of social media is important not only in India, but throughout the world. The reason that social media is a great use of the internet is because it can connect all types of people from around the world. If the people of India are able to get access to the internet and social media, then they will have a new means to communicate with other countries around the world.

        According to a June 2015 article from thehindu.com, the number of social media users went from 118 million to 143 million in a matter of two months, which was a 35 percent increase. Since then, there has been 10 million more accounts created, which shows the continuing growth of social media in India.